A fresh referral from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has placed former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. at the center of the latest set of names endorsed for prosecution, alongside several current and former lawmakers, Senate personnel, and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials.
The commission’s report, transmitted to the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday, also urged deeper scrutiny of Senators Francis Escudero and Mark Villar, as well as former senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay. The request for further inquiry, according to ICI chair Andres Reyes Jr., should not be interpreted as easing the seriousness of the allegations. “We are not washing our hands from these cases,” he said in a One News PH report. “We are just joining hands with the ombudsman.” He added, “In the meantime that they are investigating, we are also investigating. So, two heads are better than one.”
The complaints laid out by the ICI cover a range of accusations—from plunder to bribery and corruption—against a mix of political figures, government engineers, former aides, and private individuals. Revilla, who failed in his reelection bid earlier this year, could face a new plunder case decades after first holding public office. He was previously acquitted in 2018 in the PDAF scam.
Among those cited in the referral is businessman Maynard Ngu, described as an alleged “bagman” linked to Escudero. Several DPWH officials were also named, including Metro Manila regional director Gerard Opulencia; South Manila district head Manny Bulusan; Las Piñas–Muntinlupa engineering chief Ruel Umali; and Region 4-B assistant regional director Gene Ryan Altea, who remains the subject of an arrest warrant.
The list also includes individuals tied to legislators: Carleen Yap-Villa, a former aide to Binay now working in Makati’s General Services Department, and J.Y. dela Rosa, once part of Poe’s staff. Other personalities mentioned were a Batangas contractor known as Mrs. Patron and former Las Piñas councilor Carlo Aguilar, who allegedly sought project commissions.
Many of these names first surfaced when former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo submitted a supplemental affidavit detailing what he described as “commitments” from infrastructure projects to certain senators. He claimed Binay asked for project listings amounting to P3.55 billion, supposedly tied to a 15 percent commitment. Escudero allegedly had arrangements involving 20 percent of P1.4 billion worth of projects. Information from resigned DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan, also cited in the ICI referral, linked Poe to P500 million in reserved projects, while Villar was said to have received commitments during his time leading the DPWH.
The commission intends to forward additional evidence to bolster potential cases against Bonoan, Bernardo, fugitive lawmaker Elizaldy Co, former undersecretary Catalina Cabral, several dismissed Bulacan DPWH engineers, and ex-audit commissioner Mario Lipana.
Revilla’s camp, however, disputed the process. His spokesperson, Maria Carissa Guinto, said he never received any formal notice. “We need to clarify that our client, former senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla has not received any subpoena or a copy of any complaint against him,” she said. According to her, Revilla “was never invited to speak, never given the opportunity to defend himself and never allowed to present the truth.”
“He is deeply disappointed to have been denied such a fundamental right, though he still holds trust and faith in the system,” she added. Guinto further argued that the accusations “are based on the meaningless accusations fabricated by a criminal mastermind and his cohorts who are desperately buying their way to freedom.” She said, “The assertions of those whose conduct reflect a deliberate pattern of moral bankruptcy are suspect at best and should not, in any manner, be construed as drawing our client into the web they themselves engineered.”
Poe responded separately, saying the commission’s move supported her stance. “The ICI’s recommendation to refer me for further investigation by the ombudsman is a clear acknowledgement that former (undersecretary) Bernardo’s allegations against me are false and that there is no evidence to support the filing of charges against me,” she said. “This is no surprise to me and to the people who know me because I had always conducted myself with utmost integrity.” She noted she would participate fully in the ombudsman’s review “to the end that the truth will actually be uncovered and appropriate charges are eventually brought against those who are truly responsible.”
